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Show 2 REPORT OF TEE COMMINSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. To the subject of traders' license%, circumstances have cansed me to pay special attention, and I have come to the conclusion that a radical change in either principle or practice, perhaps both, is necewary. I suppose bhat I am not making a remark which will startle the department by its novelty, when E suggest that there is reason to believe that agents are too often in some manner interested with or for the traders. Geltainly there can be no doubt that if swb combinationof interestsshonld exist, it eau only exist to theinjury of theinterests of the Indians, and consequently of the government. I t knot nneommon to hear the apparent rapidly increasing wealth of employ& of, oi officers subordinate to, this oEce, spoken of as a reproach to the service. I have no idea of nndertak-ing a Quixotic attempt to correct the manners or morals of public oEcera; but in this particular matter I have been led to believe that an improvement can he effected, partly by the adoption and enforcement of new and stringent rdes by the department, and partly by the aid of ooogressional eoactments. I presume that the presence of t,raders upon most of the reeervations, nndex proper pards and restrictions, is a benefit to tbe Indians, enabling them to obtain, in exchange for their furs and other articles furnished by them, swch Bhings as they need for their comfort, and I propose to continue to grant licenses to traders as hereto-fore ; but, with yoar concurrence, to -ex such conditions to the approval as will compel them to an exchange yith the Indians at fair prices, to be estah-lished from time to time, according to circmstanees. This has already been I done in several cases by your direction, and I propose to make the role a gene-ral one. I have also issued an order or circnlar.requiring hereafter theagent or enperintendent who approves a license (in analogy to the law requiring such certificate on iiU contracts made by them) to meke the following &avit on every license which they may approve, to wit: &'I(n,a me of agent,) United States Indian agent for tbe (name of tribe) In-dians, do solemnly swear (or affirm) (or where there are no magistrates accessi-ble, certify on honor) that the license hereto annexed and granted by me has been granted without any agreement or understanding with the party solicensed, or any other person or persons on behalf of the partjso licensed, for any hcne-fit or advantage to myself, directly or indirectly, present or future, nor to any person or persona on my behalf, in any manner whatever ; and that no mange-ment for sncl~b enefit to myself or other person on my hehalf is in conbempls-tion in case this license shall be approved." With a view to the correction of such wrongs as may exist, and the preven-tion of others in Suture, in relation to a combination of interests between agents and traders or contractom, I suggest an applieati~nto Congress for the passage of a law which shall make it a penal offence for any agent or other officer in the Indian service to be in any manner, direetly or indirectly, interested in the profits of the business of any trader, or in any contract for the purchase of goods, or in any trade with the Indiana, at their own or any other agency; the . same penalties to apply to $he licensing of any relative to trade, or to pnrchae- :. ing goods or provisions for the use of the Indians of any 6 m in which they or !$ any relative may be partners or in any way interested. I do not desire to push ; legislation to a point where it cannot be enforced, hut I think that in this mat-ter the most stringent measures are necesaary. In connexion with thia subject, I feel called upon to suggest that,in order to d obtain the eerviees of a elaes of men who may be expected to keep.aloof from the reprehensible conduct which appears to call for such legislation as is above suggested, there should be an increase of salary provided for the agents. Fif-teen hundred dollara per annum .is now the established rate of pay, whatever may he their duties or responsibilities, the amonnt of their bonds varying with the amount of money annually placed in their hands. The fact that innumera-ble applicants stand ready to take any places which are vacated is not, in my judgment,aq argument against an increase of pay; it is simply a proof of the |